Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS tighten controls to speed up vet housing boost ceilings to encourage meat prodoc production tion EDITORS NOTE when opinions ar are expressed in these columns they ar are those of western newspaper union news new a an analysts cysts and not necessarily sar y of this newspaper HOUSING aid A id to vets in ordering a 27 per cent deduc in commercial building and channeling greater amounts of material to new housing X the government sought to increase the construction of new dwellings and to reduce the time for their completion housing expediter wilson W wyatt W W wyatt and civilian production administrator john D small worked out the new controls after the building industry had warned of a serious bogging of the whole emergency housing program for vets leaving a meeting with government rent officials prior to the announce J int of the new program jos joseph eph THy erhoff president of the national association of home builders declared that the industry had tailed failed to get the flow of materials necessary for the completion of to homes under construction and that the shortages have lengthened the construction time from 3 to 4 months to 9 to 12 months nails heating ducts furnaces plumbing fixtures millwork hardwood flooring wall board and plaster remain scarce he said with small agreeing to the transfer of all housing control to wyatt the government instituted sweeping directives to answer the widespread complaints f fak non residential construction was cut back from over 48 million dollars weekly to 35 million dollars to divert more materials for home building J D small twenty seven more materials including stoves linoleum and light fixtures were added to the list of 25 already subject to vet priorities one hundred per cent of all hardi ia od and 85 per cent of all mill ork ork doors window frames etc were ordered set aside for vets along with 95 per cent of all bathtubs and 75 per cent of all sinks sawmills were directed to supply dealers with a larger volume of lumber for residential construction and to divert less to other uses MEAT production incentive taking advantage of the new OPA act empowering him to set livestock ceilings secretary of agriculture anderson called for substantial boosts in cattle and hog prices to encourage feeding this fall and to assure adequate supplies of beef next winter and spring ec laring that prospects pointed kO plentiful supplies of feed grains this year anderson stated that it was necessary to bring stock prices in line with feed costs to spur farmers into fattening stock otherwise he said large numbers of lean animals would be butchered creating a serious shortage later andersons recommendation for a boost in the cattle top to 2025 per hundredweight chicago basis and in the hog bog ceiling to 1625 ran counter to Administrator OP paul porters desire to establish prices around the old level of 18 and 1485 As a result of the boosts retail ceilings were scheduled to rise from two to eight cents on beef and about three cents on pork 4 A am D A 4 Z i t 4 M 1 1 still holding sway in spain generalissimo francisco franco leaves church in motrico with wife under archway of oars formed by sailors who comprised guard of honor FREIGHT CARS act to avert crisis with the government fearing a shortage of to freight cars at the peak of industrial and agricultural this fall director steelman enlisted the aid of five U S departments and agencies to avert a serious transportation bottleneck under steelmans Steel mans comprehensive plan department of agriculture and office of defense transportation will act together to move perishable crops and speed the shipment of tin cans sugar and and other essential supplies to west coast and middle west canneries war shipping administration and maritime commission will provide ships for the diversion of freight to water carriers wherever feasible and office of price administration will grant shippers relief for higher costs civilian production administration will step up the flow of materials needed to repair old freight cars and build new ones this year state department will seek to regulate foreign orders for freight cars in an attempt to increase the output for domestic use this year GREECE big stakes greece forged to the front of the troubled european picture as the scene of the latest tug of diplomatic war between the western allies and soviet russia working boldly to establish supremacy throughout eastern europe and adjoining asia minor moscow recalled amb konstantine Konstant lne K from greece as a mark of displeasure against the holding of a plebiscite to return king george II 11 to his throne because britain supported by the U S favored both the restoration of the monarchy and the populist party government now in the saddle dussias Rus sias move really was pointed pointed against anglo american policy the presence of british troops in greece has acted as a lever against a communist inspired seizure of power and the visit of U S warships to grecian waters before the plebiscite was seen as a gesture of friendship for the rightist regime the tussle between the anglo american and russian blocs in greece is for big stakes A government friendly to the british would assure them of a toehold in the balkans and an advance base for the near east and suez canal while russian domination of the country would result in complete soviet hegemony in the balkans and a protected flank in the event of trouble in asia minor ATOM BOMB U S continues output the U S served notice on the world that it would conal continue dinue production of the atomic bomb in the event the united nations notions failed to work out adequate controls tor for nuclear energy in the first of a series of scientific reports to the U N s atomic energy commission covering development of the new explosive brig gen K D nichols and lt col john R declared that failure to set up safeguards would only leave the alternative of manufacturing fac turing a sufficient number of high powered bombs to deter potential aggressors while atomic warfare would result in serious losses the experts said a nation surviving the first shock would be able to come back although such cities as london paris and new york would be better able to withstand atomic bombing than hiroshima it if the population were well disciplined the experts opined opened it would be difficult to disperse a closely knit industrial system the me reports were submitted to the atomic commission by U S member bernard M baruch control plans remain snarled by dussias Rus sias insistence of maintaining the veto power over activities of a supervisory agency BASEBALL on even terms thanks to the scares robert mur phys ghys baseball guild and jorge pas buels mexican league threw into the major league magnates big time hall ball players were granted a substantial stant lal voice in shaping working conditions on the diamond at meetings concluded in chicago A player representative from each league will sit on a special advisory committee to regulate playing conditions throng throughout hout the season commissioner A B happy chandler will head the new committee which also includes presidents of the two two leagues and two club owners in addition a uniform player contract came out of the chicago meetings subject to the players approval following the lines recommended by the players earlier the new contract was said to establish a minimum wage to be paid even if a man were shipped to the minors a revision of the 10 day release clause and a lengthening of the barnstorming period from 10 to 30 days the conferees also agreed to ei extend the playing season from to days AUTOS hit black mart when OPA agents raided an alleged open air auto black market in leesville S C and arrested six men the agency set an example for similar swift government action in curbing illegal operations under the new price administration act with recurrent rumors of widespread illegal dealing in new and used automobiles the OPA hit what it described as the fountainhead for black market dealers from north and south carolina virginia washington D C new york new jersey ohio tennessee georgia alabama michigan kentucky louisiana florida and pennsylvania leesville was said to be the hub of a 75 million dollar black market business posing as auto dealers OPA agents quietly bought five cars in the open air mart for with prices paid double ceilings some 1850 cars were found to be selling for and 2600 vehicles for tor no less than 80 90 dealers were present for the car sale SURPLUS SALES pick up accelerated by timely merchandising and simplification of procedure government sales of surplus war materials jumped appreciably during 1946 to permit disposal of goods originally valued at nine billion dollars elimination of red tape by granting regional and branches of the war assets administration final authority in handling sales was one of the reasons for the speeding of disposals it was said other reasons included the sale of property at the site selection of needy items tor for disposal and disposition of combat aircraft as scrap most sales during the 12 month period since VJ V J day were for less than and a large percentage were under WAA said since vets were granted a no 2 priority and certain critical materials were set aside for their use they have been buying an increasing amount of property meanwhile the chamber of commerce declared that the government realized a gross return of 38 33 per cent on sales since the start of the program with the figure dropping to 33 per cent during april may and june after deducting expenses the government netted about 19 per cent ALASKA new frontier alaska loomed as the new amerlean american frontier as authorities expected a large flow of settlers to be attracted to the new promised land by the availability of several million acres to homesteaders of the 1946 vintage following the procedure used in settling the old west there is no payment for land in excess of 80 acres up to only a fee ranging up to 16 applicants must be 21 U S citizens and owners of no more than acres of land in this country residence on the land must be maintained for seven months of each year for three years and homesteaders ste aders must cultivate one sixteenth of their claim the first year and one eighteenth or more by the third year at the same time buildings must be built to meet federal requirements in addition to farm land 80 acre tracts can be purchased tor for trade or manufacturing plants or leased for grazing fur farming and mining operations FEDERAL COURT upholds talmadge georgias system of deciding elections eions by the county unit vote pr praised ased by proponents as designed to prevent political control by big city bosses was upheld by a three man federal court sitting in the state capital under the unit procedure each county is is entitled to from two to six votes depending upon its population with the winning candidate in the county receiving all its unit votes thus while a candidate may not poll a popular majority because of being outvoted in a few large counties he still may get the necessary unit votes from smaller counties in passing on a suit brought by two atlanta citizens protesting eugene Tal madges gubernatorial victory on the county unit vote the court ruled that federal or state governments ern rn never have sought equal influence for each voter pointing to the U S senate the court said each state has two votes regardless of population in the making of all laws and confirming of treaties and federal appointments SMALL TOWNS j provide recreation I 1 rejecting the theory that nearby fields and woods are sufficient for recreation small cities and towns in increasing numbers are activating or expanding municipal recreation facilities for all age groups according to the american public works association recreation by districts or groups of adjacent towns is being organized in california under provisions of the state public resources code an example is the town of hayward which with its outlying unincorporated corp orated communities has mobilized and expanded school recreational facilities to provide play and hobby programs for the district on a budget of some a year in many small cities parks and recreational facilities that began as private philanthropies have since been given support by public funds upper sandusky ohio for example now finances by a one mill tax levy a recreation park originally donated by a private citizen bonds sold to build a swimming pool are being retired with receipts from the pools operation |